iOS gamers play twice as much as any other mobile platform

iOS gamers spend an average of twice as much time on games as any other mobile platform, a Nielsen study reveals.

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It's no surprise that iOS device owners play more games than owners of other mobile devices. The library is unquestionably more extensive on the App Store, and while platforms like Android and Windows Phone 7 are catching up, the leader is clear. Market research company Nielsen discovered exactly how much of a lead iOS has over the platforms: it's almost twice as much. iOS gamers spend an average of 14.7 hours gaming in a month, versus 9.3 hours for Android. That's a lot of bathroom breaks!

Microsoft's fledgling Windows Phone 7 platform performed surprisingly poorly, with only 4.7 hours of gaming per month. Given the platform's integration with Xbox Live and achievements, this figure seems surprisingly low.

Regardless of platform, mobile gaming seems to show no sign of slowing down. Gaming is the most-used type of app on handheld devices, with 64% of surveyed users saying they play games on their phone. Of those people that have previously purchased apps on their phones, 93% of surveyed individuals say they are willing to pay for new game purchases. With such a high retention rate, no wonder so may companies are betting big on mobile.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 6, 2011 4:15 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, iOS gamers play twice as much as any other mobile platform.

    iOS gamers spend an average of twice as much time on games as any other mobile platform, a Nielsen study reveals.

    • reply
      July 6, 2011 4:37 PM

      Plenty of time to play games when you are waiting for AT&T signal or after dropped calls.

      I kid, but seriously, I drop an average of one call a day but I only make around two calls a day.

      Also, iOS has some fun games on it.

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        July 6, 2011 6:30 PM

        I paid extra to get a Verizon iphone. I even had a discount for ATT, but who cares if it constantly drops the calls.

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        July 7, 2011 7:43 AM

        I've never had a dropped call with my iphone 4. Not one.

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      July 6, 2011 4:49 PM

      hooray for studies that confirm what we already knew!

    • reply
      July 6, 2011 4:52 PM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        July 7, 2011 4:01 PM

        Or maybe the fact that iOS isn't limited to just phones, but also iPods and iPads... On which there is little to do other than play games.

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      July 6, 2011 5:31 PM

      What the study doesn't cover is that this is the only way Apple supporters have been able to play meaningful quantities of games; despite all of Apple previous claims about support for gaming. And, this time, their support has been to simply get out of the way.

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        July 6, 2011 6:01 PM

        Probably because that has absolutely nothing to do with the study and is just some useless crap you grabbed to stir the pot.

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      July 6, 2011 5:38 PM

      I would think this could be biased because people always have their phone with them, people probably don't carry a DS/3DS/PSP 24/7.

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        July 6, 2011 5:52 PM

        You stumbled on the very reason Nintendo has tried to rally the old guard of mobile gaming companies against Apple: they're sinking.

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          July 6, 2011 5:55 PM

          nintendo would have been better off making the 3DS a phone

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            July 6, 2011 6:21 PM

            Jackpot. They are doing this to themselves now. They don't want to be as lowly as Sega and Atari, pushing out software for somebody else's mobile hardware; that's a very respectable goal. What is not respectable is allowing their stubbornness to preclude any kind of inclusion in Android or iOS app stores. They're being very silly.

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      July 6, 2011 5:54 PM

      is that per gamer or in the aggregate?

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      July 6, 2011 6:03 PM

      [deleted]

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      July 6, 2011 8:11 PM

      the DS doesn't qualify as a mobile platform?

      Pokemon black/white alone would probably shatter those scores (is my guess)

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        July 6, 2011 8:24 PM

        It's just stats about phones and what types of apps people use. I don't know why the DS would fit in.

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        July 6, 2011 11:56 PM

        Nah, "mobile" in this case is another term for cell-phones. DS and the like are typically categorized as "handhelds" or something I think.

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        July 6, 2011 11:59 PM

        Get one to run Skype, then you're right.

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      July 7, 2011 12:21 AM

      iOS games are great. Cheap, effective entertainment that you can manage with a shit schedule and be pretty social about it.

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      July 7, 2011 2:23 AM

      That headline is plain wrong. Twice as much as ANY other? They don't play twice as much as Android.

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        July 7, 2011 7:44 AM

        How do you know?

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          July 7, 2011 8:02 AM

          Just looking at the bar charts / corresponding figures one could say that the statement is technically incorrect.

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        July 7, 2011 8:00 AM

        I wouldn't be so sure, I don't ever play games on my android, they all suck ass from what I've seen so far.

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        July 7, 2011 9:34 AM

        Yes, the headline *is* wrong. The chart title is correct though (twice as much as the average player).

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        July 7, 2011 11:13 AM

        I noticed that too. It's not twice as much as Android OR the average, if we want to be picky about it.

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        July 7, 2011 12:22 PM

        By almost twice as much, they mean 1.5 as much as Android.

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      July 7, 2011 3:38 AM

      What's suprising is Win 7 has that much considerig how low it's market share is.

      • zig legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        July 7, 2011 7:03 AM

        What does market share have to do with average hours spent gaming on a platform? I'm surprised it's not higher, given that gaming is a pretty big draw for WP7, what with the xbox live integration.

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